


Rom(an)eo and the Set Designer

by Virilee



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders
Genre: Fluff, High School AU, M/M, Sanders Sides - Freeform, Slow Burn, royality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-04-19 15:32:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14240346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Virilee/pseuds/Virilee
Summary: Patton has had a hopeless crush on Roman for years. But when Roman needs Patton's help with the drama club's production of Romeo and Juliet, Patton just might find his chance to befriend him. Senior year hijinks, mostly fluff, with royality and probably some background analogical.





	1. Knights in Shining Armor

The first time Patton meets Roman, Lucas has cornered him on the playground and is tugging at the hem of his skirt in mockery. Patton is working hard to hold back his tears and wishing he could be anywhere else, when his vision of Lucas is suddenly completely blocked.

"Back off!" The new boy shouts, in a voice that only wavers slightly. The boy has a foam sword in his hand, and he doesn't cower even a little when Lucas clenches his hand into a fist.

"Or what, kid?" Lucas smirks. "You gonna try and fight me?"

Lucas is older- he's a middle schooler, and he towers over Patton's rescuer almost as much as he does Patton, but the boy doesn't back down, and a moment later, Lucas’ fist flies. Patton lets out a cry of fear, but the strange boy dodges the punch and responds by kicking Lucas in the shins. Lucas shouts in shock but is still making to continue his assault on them, when they all catch the voice of an adult coming towards the park. Lucas immediately runs, and Patton's savior turns around to help him up from where he’d fallen on the ground.

"Thank you," Patton whispers.

"No problem," they exclaim, "I was just doing what any proper hero would do! My name's Roman, what's yours?"

"Patton." He leans down to brush off the hem of his skirt nervously.

"I really like your skirt, Patton!" Roman says with a nod. "That's such a pretty blue."

Patton thanks Roman, and quickly flees home after that, terrified that Lucas will reappear, but he doesn't ever stop thinking about that day.

*** 

Four years later, Patton is stepping into high school for the first time, and he's terrified. The building is huge, and so are the upperclassmen, and Patton's only hoping to get through the next four years with as little damage as possible. Classes won't begin for another forty-five minutes, but Patton is desperate to sign up for his locker early- he's worried they might run out. The line is already quite long, and it takes nearly twenty-five minutes for him to reach the front, and finally get his chance to sign up.

"Alright, what is your name?" The lady asks. Patton eyes her long painted fingernails with mild interest.

"Patton Foster."

"And what grade are you in?"

"Freshman, ma'am." The woman writes his information down, then glances up at him. He quickly averts his eyes.

"And your partner?"

"I'm sorry?" Patton says, startled and confused.

"Your partner. Surely you were aware that underclassmen are expected to share a locker with a partner?" Patton wasn't aware of that, no, and he starts to panic because there are so many people and he doesn't know what to say- but then there's an arm draping itself over his shoulder, and Patton glances up in surprise.

"Of course we know, Mrs. Kadner. I'm Patton's partner." Roman says, from beside Patton. "Sorry for keeping you waiting, bud."

Patton chokes on his tongue, as Roman pats him on the back, then shakily accepts the scrap of paper the lady hands him, with the locker number and combination on it. Once he makes it out of the office, he leans against the wall and carefully takes a deep breath. He and Roman have never been friends- even after Roman had saved him from Lucas, they hadn't really spoken much. Roman hadn’t been in his fifth-grade class, and once middle school had started- well, Roman had quickly become a popular kid, and the last thing Patton had wanted to do was draw his attention then. So, really, Patton had no clue why Roman had just claimed himself as Patton's locker partner. After all, surely he had another friend he was planning on partnering with.

"You okay, Patton?" Roman's voice startles Patton out of his reverie, and he blinks up at his classmate who seemed to be staring at him in concern.

"Uh, yeah. Um, thanks for helping me out there." Patton says, shifting in place and offering Roman his brightest smile. "But what about the person you were gonna partner with?"

"Oh, I wasn't planning on getting a locker,” Roman assures him. “Mr. Nicholls already told me I could leave anything I needed to in the green room, so..." Right. Roman's been working with the high school drama club for two years now. Just another reason he was always so popular.

"Oh," Patton glances down at the piece of paper in his hand. "Well, uh, thanks?" Roman smiles back at him and nods, and then he trots back into the office to finish whatever business had brought him there in the first place.

Nobody ever seems to notice that Patton's the only one using his locker, that year.

*** 

"Hey, Patton!" Joan shouts from their place at their usual lunch table. They seem to be the only one who's arrived so far, which is unsurprising, seeing as Joan's homeroom is literally right across the hall. Patton walks over, and slides into the seat next to them, grinning.

"First day of senior year, huh?" He asks with a smile. Joan grins back, then glances over Patton's shoulder and starts waving again. The next addition is Talyn, Joan's datemate, who slides into the seat on the opposite side of them. Virgil follows a moment later, flopping his head onto the table with a groan.

"Cheer up, Virge," Talyn says, with a grin. "Don't you have art next?" Virgil lifts his head, only to level a glare at Talyn, and drop it back down again.

"Yeah, but I've got math for my last period. I am so not looking forward to that."

"You're the one who signed up for calculus, Virgil." Patton reminds him. "That's not a required class."

"Yeah, but my mom looked so excited when she heard that was an option for me. Hell, she took me out to dinner in celebration. No way was I gonna tell her I didn't wanna take it." Virgil finishes talking and stands back up. "I'm gonna go get my lunch." Patton watches as Virgil heads in the direction of the lunchline, and frowns with worry.

"He may not be, but I'm definitely glad school's started again, if only for his sake." He mutters.

"I know what you mean. He only accepts my dinner invites about half the time. It doesn't help that his mom insists on putting away all the money he earns for college. I mean, I get why, but still..." Talyn trails off.

"We worry." Joan finishes.

Patton carefully guides the conversation back towards school and their classes, so that Virgil returns to a discussion about English, and Patton happily begins eating his sandwich, when he sees Virgil begin eating a proper meal. He's smiling at Virgil, when he spots Roman behind him, walking up to his usual crowd of friends. He's the type of guy that somehow has friends in every clique, but Roman always spends his lunchtime with his fellow drama kids. As Patton watches, Roman grins and jumps onto a chair, to strike a hero's pose. He's singing something, but the cafeteria is too loud for him to tell what it is, from across the room. The boy is grinning in the bright, cheerful way he always does-

"Patton, are you even listening?" Patton tunes back in when Joan's hand touches his shoulder, and he blinks up at his friend in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Oh don't mind Patton," Virgil grins. "He's just fawning over the Prince of Drama again. Honestly, Patton. What you see in him, I don't know." Patton makes a face in response to Virgil's teasing, and returns his focus to their conversation, with just one glance back at Roman. Eventually, the bell rings, and they head towards the art room. At the door, the four of them share their customary fist bumps, and then Joan and Virgil enter the classroom and he and Talyn head onwards for their woodshop class.

***

Three weeks later, Patton nearly walks into a door, when Roman pops up out of nowhere and slings his arm around Patton's shoulder.

"Hey, Patton!" He says, squeezing his arm in something akin to a friendly gesture.

"Hi, Roman!" Patton replies brightly, once he's recovered from his surprise. "What's up?"

"Well," Roman drawls, stepping away to lean against the wall. "I'm sure you're aware that I'm the president of the drama club, and we seem to have found ourselves in a bit of a pickle. Our set designer transferred to another school, and now we have nobody to build my castle for our first play of the year! So I was talking to Mr. Beltran, and he told me that you're one of his best students, so I thought I'd come over here and ask if you'd be interested in helping a fella out?"

"I- don't..." Patton stammers uncertainly. In an instant, Roman drops to the floor, and clasps his hands in front of his face, grinning up at Patton.

"Pleeaaase?" Patton stares down at Roman's ridiculous posing, and giggles.

"I'll think about it, okay?" Roman's answering grin is enough to keep Patton feeling warm and gooey inside, on his whole walk home.

***

Patton has just finished eating his lunch when Roman strides over and plops down into the seat next to him. It's been a week since Roman approached him about designing their set, and Patton has definitely thought about it a lot, but he has yet to get any closer to an answer he can give Roman. He carefully avoids everyone's eyes, as Roman slings his arm around Patton's shoulders once again.

"Hey, Patton!" Roman drawls. "I don't suppose you've come to a decision, yet."

"Not really..." Patton starts to say, but the look on Roman's face makes him trail off in surprise. Roman looks genuinely worried. A moment later, the expression fades away, though.

"No problem, take as long as you need, pal!" Roman starts to stand up and return to his table.

"Wait!" Patton grabs Roman's arm before he can leave, and fights down his blush as Roman turns to look at him again in surprise. "I- actually, I have a couple questions."

As Roman grins and sits back down, Patton works frantically to figure out what he wants to ask. He pointedly ignores the snickers coming from his friends and focuses on Roman in front of him.

"Questions, you say? What about?" Roman asks, catching Patton's attention once more as he leans forward.

"Well, I just- what exactly are you looking for, you know? I mean, set-wise. How complex of a thing are you expecting me to build?"

"Oh!" Roman exclaims happily. "We're not looking for anything super complicated, don't worry. I mean, we're planning on doing Romeo and Juliet for the fall play, so really all we're hoping for is somebody who can help us figure out a balcony, y'know? We could probably manage a static backdrop without any help, but I don't think any of us have any clue how to build a balcony that's- actually stable enough to stand on." Patton nods absently, as he considers that.

"Do you guys have a budget plan for this set?" Patton asks, reaching down to pull a notebook and pencil out of his backpack, and pushes them towards Roman. "Here, draw what you were thinking this set would look like.”

Roman blinks down at the paper for a moment, then slowly picks up the pencil and begins to draw.

"I mean, I was thinking it should be sorta like this, but it’s really all fairly open to interpretation. We usually do a fairly basic set- nothing that needs to be moved or anything, since all our set changes have to be done manually.” Roman sketches as he talks and Patton spares a glance at Joan beside him. Joan silently raises an eyebrow, as soon as Patton's looking in their direction, but Patton just shakes his head and turns back to watch Roman sketch out a rough structure, until the bell rings.

"Oh-" Roman glances up at the clock, then pushes the notebook back towards Patton. "Well, that's sorta what I was thinking of, anyway."

"I'll look at this over the weekend, and let you know on Monday, okay?" Patton smiles as Roman nods his agreement and rushes off to collect his backpack and head to class. The moment he's out of hearing, his three friends all burst into laughter.

"And what, precisely, was that about?" Virgil snarks. "Last I knew, you were too terrified to even try talking to him."

"He needs a set designer," Patton answers with a shrug.

"You gonna do it?" Joan asks as they start the walk to their classes.

"I don't really know. Maybe. It could be fun." Patton frowns and glances down at the notebook he's holding. A stick figure stares back at him from its position, sort of leaning on the railing of a balcony that's set into a crooked-looking castle wall. He smiles back at the sketch and with a huff he realizes he's going to say yes.


	2. Blinking in the Starlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, Patton thinks. He's really gonna do this.

"What's that?” Patton's mom asks him when she pops into his room with a sandwich at noon on Saturday. Patton's hunched over his desk, when she walks in, frowning at Roman's drawing.

"The set design for the school play." He's been staring at the scribble drawing for nearly an hour now, but he can't figure out where to start on actually coming up with a set design.

"When did you join the drama club, dear? You haven't mentioned this before." She sets the plate down beside him and touches the back of his head fondly.

"I haven't actually joined it, yet." Patton glances over at his lunch with a frown. "Roman asked me to design the set for them a few days ago. The old kid transferred schools, and they don't have anyone with any carpentry knowledge."

"And this is their plan?" she asks, picking up the notebook. "It doesn't look very detailed..."

"No," Patton laughs, "I guess not." His stomach chooses that moment to make its hunger known, so Patton pushes the notebook aside and pulls his sandwich into its place with a laugh. His mother smiles and leaves him to his work once she sees him eating, and Patton glances briefly over at the drawing. It's so sloppy that he's not really sure how he can turn it into something more concrete, so Patton pulls out his laptop and googles 'Romeo and Juliet' in between bites.

Clicking over to image search, Patton realizes that it's all just pictures of the characters, so with a frown, he adds 'set design' to the image search. What comes up consists mostly of very complicated two-story sets with lots of stairs, but searching through them, Patton begins to get an idea of what Roman might be looking for. Arches seem to be a very common theme, and there's quite a lot of fancy staircases, decorating the images. Generally, they all seem intended to give the impression of massive mansions. Quickly, Patton finishes his lunch, flips to a new page in his notebook, and begins to draw.

***

Patton keeps an eye out for Roman all morning, but it isn't until he walks into the cafeteria for lunch that Patton finally spots him. Roman is sitting on the edge of the table happily chatting with one of his friends. Patton takes a deep breath and then walks over to address him.

"Roman." Roman looks up at Patton's greeting and smiles after a moment.

"Well, if it isn't my wonderful friend, Patton! What can I do for today?" He stands up and falls into a sweeping bow.

"What do you think of this?" Patton asks, holding out his notebook. Roman takes it, once he's straightened from his bow, and looks over the rough outline on it. The set Patton has sketched out isn't too complicated, There's a balcony on the left-hand side, jutting out from a rough stone wall. Just beside that, sits a low wall decorated with goofy little flowers, and beyond that sits a dual backdrop; a wall with open archways set into it, and the impression of the night sky beyond, decorated with goofy little stars and cartoonish crescent moon.

Roman furrows his brows as he examines it, and Patton waits nervously. A moment later, Roman looks back up at him with a grin.

"This is absolutely marvelous! If you're certain you can manage this, it would be perfect for our production!"

"Well, it shouldn't be too difficult. I've done sort of similar projects before, for the animal shelter." Patton shifts his weight and grins. "It'll be fun, I think! I've never really worked in a theatre before!" Roman returns Patton's smile, then turns to his friend and slams the notebook down on the table.

"I've found us a set designer!" he exclaims, catching the attention of all four people who are sitting down already. they all immediately lean over to examine Patton's drawing and he lets out a nervous giggle.

"I'm not exactly the best artist, I promise it'll look better when I actually build it."

"This is amazing!" Valerie offers him a wide grin as Roman slings his arm around Patton's shoulders. Everyone else agrees in loud, friendly voices, and Roman turns back to him.

"So the first meeting is after school next Tuesday," Roman says. "You won't need to come to every rehearsal, so don't worry about that, but we will need you at all the important ones, okay?"

"Sure!" Patton blushes happily at Roman's ecstatic look. "I'll be there!"

When Roman finally allows him to stumble his return to his usual lunch table, he does so with a goofy smile on his face.

***

On the day of, Patton finds himself standing outside the drama classroom, blinking nervously. Inside the classroom, there's a lot of laughter and singing. Patton is trying to gather the courage to open the door when it bursts open. He quickly jumps back to avoid getting hit and then blinks at the person who's now staring at him.

"Um, hi. Can I help you?" they ask.

"Hi, Roman said I should come to this meeting, so..." Patton trails off, wondering how he can explain his presence, but the other person is already leaning their head back into the classroom.

"Yo, Roman, who's this kid you invited?" they shout, and a moment later, Roman appears at their side.

"Patton!" Roman exclaims bouncing forward to wrap him in a hug. Patton blinks slowly at the sudden contact.

"Hi Roman," he finally manages with a laugh. "I didn't think you'd be this excited to see me!"

"I thought you might have changed your mind," Roman answers, pulling back. "After all, I kind of flung this on you without much warning. But you're here, so come on in! We're waiting to start until everyone gets here." Patton follows Roman into the room and perches on a desk near the group of people who are already in the room. Hakuna Matata seems to be playing from somebody's phone, and three people are singing along to it. Two people are perched on tables, rolling their eyes at the other's antics, and Roman is grinning at the whole group of them.

"Disney's pretty common around these parts," Roman says with a laugh. "I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm a huge Disney fan, too!"

"Really?" Roman raises his eyebrow. "How much of a Disney fan?"

"Virgil and I watch Disney movies all the time! We've practically got all the songs memorized!" Patton is excited now, thinking about his movie nights with Virgil, and he entirely misses the smirk Roman sends in his direction.

"Well, in that case, I do believe it's duet time!"

"What?" Patton starts, blinking up at Roman, who's standing directly in front of Patton, offering him his hand and bowing.

"You heard me. A duet, if you will, my lord," Roman says, glancing up without leaving his bow, and winking at Patton.

Slowly, Patton reaches his hand out and takes Roman's hand, trying to fight down his blush. Roman pulls Patton to the front of the classroom and nods to one of his friends, who has just produced a guitar from somewhere.

"I'm thinking I See the Light would work well for us, Jamahl. Patton, are okay being Rapunzel?" Roman says, and once Patton nods, Roman's friend starts playing the opening guitar notes.

"All those days, watching from the windows," Patton begins with a nervous giggle. He's not used to singing in front of this many people, and it doesn't help that he's surrounded by talented performers. Roman's smiling encouragingly at him, though, and with a small smile, he closes his eyes and tries again.

"All those years, outside looking in. All that time, never even knowing." Slowly, Patton begins to feel like he can breathe, even with all these people watching him, and he opens his eyes to find all Roman's friends grinning.

"Just how blind I've been." He can feel Roman's eyes on him, so blinks over at the boy and Roman's grin is huge and suddenly Patton's thinking back to that day on the playground, when Roman had rescued him from Jerkface Lucas. As Patton continues to sing, he thinks about how long he's had a crush on this boy for and he feels a little silly for ever being afraid to try to talk to him. Roman is nice- has always been exceedingly nice.

"And at last I see the light." Patton falls into the chorus, beginning to forget where he is, and who's listening- just remembering how much he loves this song. It's beautiful and simple.

"All at once, everything looks different, now that I see you." Patton finishes the last line of the chorus, smiling up at Roman, who's staring back with unfettered excitement. Silently, they listen as the instrumental runs for a moment, and then Roman starts singing, sounding exactly like he really is a Disney prince.

"All those days, chasing down a daydream." Roman huffs out a laugh at the end of his line, and then glances away, to continue. "All those years, living in a blur."

Roman's voice is even more beautiful up close, Patton decides. All the hours of singing practice have honed his vocal chords into a warm, clear baritone that practically sends shivers running down Patton's spine. Patton glances over at the others, to see if they're as impressed by Roman as he is. Someone- he wishes he knew their name- catches his eyes, and mouths the words 'amazing right?' Patton simply nods and redirects his focus back to the song.

"Now, he's here, shining in the starlight." Patton laughs when he realizes that Roman is changing the pronouns, and attempts a curtsey. Patton almost gets lost in Roman's singing again but catches his cue in time to sing the climax of the song.

"And at last I see the light!" Patton catches a glint in Roman's eye as they sing together, and next thing he knows Romans is stepping up to carefully spin him. Patton tries to keep the focus on his singing, amid Roman's sudden antics, but he nearly trips, and steps away to careful sit on the edge of a table, before Roman decides to pick him up next.

"Now that I see yooouuuu." Patton finishes the last line with a warble, and Roman startles, before bursting into laughter. Moments later, everyone is laughing and Patton stands over them in triumph. He had made them all laugh.

"Alright, alright," Valerie says, walking up to stand beside them at the front of the room. "Everyone's here now, so we can begin if you to goofballs are ready." Patton blinks and looks around the room. Including him and Roman, there are only about ten people here.

"This is everyone?" he asks.

"Not everyone everyone, Patton." Roman's arm descends upon Patton's shoulder once again, and Patton glances up at him in confusion. "We only need the officers for this meeting."

"Officers?" Patton squeaks. "But, I-"

"You're an honorary officer," Valerie responds before he can finish the thought. "As the set designer, you're gonna have to be involved in figuring out logistics."

"Oh." Patton shrugs and goes to take a seat and listens as the entire group begins to debate the distribution of their funds.


	3. Milkshakes for Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton and Virgil get milkshakes and have a chat.

“Need a ride home?” Roman asks, as Patton grabs his backpack and stands up.

“Uh, no,” Patton glances up at him. “Virgil’s giving me a ride.”

“Oh.” Roman raises an eyebrow and glances at the clock. It's nearly five. “I hope we didn't keep him waiting too long.”

“He was staying after for tutoring anyways, and I told him I didn't know how long this meeting would go.” Patton shrugs. “He probably just spent the time listening to his music.”

“Alright,” Roman falters for a moment before smiling brightly at him. "Well, in that case, I'll see you later, I guess." Patton nods and waves as Roman heads for the parking lot, before turning in the direction of the library.

***

It's not too hard to find Virgil once he's there; he always chooses to sit at the same table, in the corner and as out of the way as possible. Patton catches his friend's eye, then walks over as he picks up his backpack off the ground.

"So how was your date?" Virgil asks once they make it back out of the library. 

"Oh hush," Patton blushes. "We all just talked about budgets and fundraising."

"Really?" Virgil squints as they head outside into the sunlight. "For, like, two and a half hours?"

"Everybody kept getting distracted," Patton says with a shrug. "Somebody would start singing or make a joke and it would take at least five minutes to get everyone back on track."

"Yeouch. That sounds irritating."

"I dunno, it was kind of fun." Patton waits, watching as Virgil fishes his keys out of his pocket and unlocks the car.

"Fun?" Virgil snorts. “Patton, I do not understand you, buddy.” Patton smiles and shrugs. Virgil's never been a fan of social situations. Heck, Patton gets it; he’s seen his fair share of bullying before, and he always seems to be getting flustered around Roman.

“But maybe,” Virgil drawls, smirking over at Patton, “you just had fun cause you got to hang out with Roman!” Patton sticks his tongue out at him.

"How did your tutoring go?" Patton glances over at Virgil.

"It was alright. Logan's actually pretty good at helping me understand the stuff that confused me in class, so..."

"Logan?" Patton hasn't heard Virgil mention that name before.

"Yeah, we have the class together. He's the one who offered to tutor me, when I mentioned I was having trouble keeping up." Virgil shrugs. "He's actually not too bad. A huge nerd, but he's really patient about explaining shit to me."

"Well, that's good, right?" Patton grins. "I bet your mom's really proud of you, huh?"

"Yeah," Virgil laughs. "She's super excited about my college prospects." Patton blinks and turns to stare out the window. He knows that he'll have to start working on applications soon, but he's mostly been avoiding thinking about it so far.

"Are you excited about college?" It's a topic that's not really come up between the two of them, and for a while, Virgil says nothing.

"I mean, sort of?" Patton glances over at his friend. "I just- what if nowhere accepts me?"

"What? I bet you get loads of options, Virgil! Heck, that's why you're taking calculus, right?" Virgil snorts.

"Yeah, but... I dunno, it's all just kinda scary, y'know?" Patton can't argue with that. He frowns, and shifts back to staring at the trees moving by. There's something about car rides that makes it so much easier to say things.

"What if I don't like college?" Patton finally says. "What if I get there and I hate it, and I fail all my classes and I never find my passion?" It's rare, the moments where Patton feels comfortable enough to admit to his insecurities- really, it's only ever Virgil that sees this side of him, but when he does, Virgil always knows just what to do. Patton doesn't even argue when Virgil turns in the opposite direction of his house, and ten minutes later, they're sitting in a local diner, sipping at a pair of milkshakes.

***

"So..." Virgil gently kicks at Patton's leg under the table. "You're really worried about college, huh?" Patton shrugs, glancing down at his straw.

"I just- everyone says that it's okay to not know what you wanna do, but..." Patton trails off, with a grimace. "What if I never figure it out?"

"Did something happen, Patton?" Virgil's question catches him completely off-guard, and he has to really think, to figure out the answer.

"Not exactly? It's just being around Roman, and all his friends, I guess. They're all so passionate and enthusiastic, and I'm just- me."

"More like you're the single most caring person I know." Virgil immediately shoots back. "Hell, you pretty much forcibly adopted me when you realized I didn't really have any friends- and I know I don't say this very often, Patton, but you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You're, like, so fiercely optimistic. I mean, you're basically a warrior of sunshine and positivity." Virgil picks a knife up off the table, slashing it around like a sword, and Patton giggles.

"I guess..." Virgil grins triumphantly.

"Hell, even with all that passion, it's Roman who needed to come to you for help. He doesn't know the first thing about how to build an awesome set, does he?" Virgil makes a face, and Patton feels some of the fear melt away.

"I'm just being silly, aren't I?"

"Hey, no. You're feelings aren't wrong. It's like you always tell me, right? Feelings can't be helped. Maybe they're not always rational, but that's okay." Virgil stands up and walks over to Patton's side of the booth. "The only thing that matters is how you deal with your feelings, and here we are- talking them out." With a huff, he pulls Patton up out of his seat, and wraps him in a hug.

They both fall into the booth together, after that. Shoulders touching, they finish their milkshakes, and the smile never leaves Patton's face as he is, once again, reminded why Virgil is his best friend. He's so upbeat and happy around everyone else, that it can get very hard to allow himself vulnerability, but in the end, Virgil is always there, perfectly understanding, and constantly willing to listen.

"Hey, so tell me more about your tutor." Patton says with a grin.

"What, Logan?" Patton smiles and nods. "What about him?"

"Well, what is he like?" Virgil eyes him with trepidation.

"I mean, I already told you he's a huge nerd... Oh, he does have surprisingly good taste in music!" Virgil grins. "Like, he asked me what I was listening to on Monday- I had my headphones on when I walked into class, and I told him, and the next day, when he got to class he tells me that he had listened to some of their music and he told me that he found the combination of synthesizer, with piano and drum to be very- and I quote, 'harsh, but also very rhythmic and powerful.' I just about keeled over in shock, honestly. Like, what a nerdy way to put it, but at the same time, it was cool that he'd gone home and looked up my music, right?"

A half an hour later, they leave the diner, Patton feeling like the weight of his future has been laid aside- at least for the time being.


	4. In Fair Verona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton goes to the first play rehearsal and discovers the ridiculous word of drama games. Plus, Valerie is a wonderful angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, it's been forever since I last updated this. Sorry :/ Life's been a mess lately, plus this chapter wasn't cooperating and I ended rewriting it like five times

After a pair of incredibly enthusiastic, yet somehow terribly exhausting planning meetings, Patton’s life returns more or less back to normal. He takes the opportunity to catch up on homework and spends some time getting a headstart on a couple of projects and an essay he’s been assigned. After all, it’s nearing the end of September now, which inevitably means workloads are getting heavier as the possibility of tests and projects begin to rise from the long forgotten ashes of summer. In the calmer moments, Patton feels wistful at the fading memories of summer, and yet he’s also incredibly excited. This is his  _ last _ year of high school, and the thought of graduating come June spurs him on. His parents have even started talking heavily of college and college applications, a notion which always manages to leave him feeling equal parts terrified and excited, as he begins to consider where he might like to apply.

And then, just as Patton’s starting to develop a rhythm, Roman pops back into Patton’s life with gusto, sliding into the seat next to him at lunch.

“Heya, Patton!” Roman exclaims, gently bumping his shoulder. “I just wanted to pop by and let you know that our first rehearsal’s happening today! You’re totally welcome to come- I mean, you’re not already busy or anything. I, uh, realize now that I probably should have given you more than a few hours warning.” Patton can’t help but giggle at Roman’s mildly sheepish expression, as the boy stands and bows, before jaunting away to his usual lunch table.

“Ever a fool as always,” Virgil mutters, in between bites of his sandwich. Patton rolls his eyes and grins, turning back to his own food as he mulls over the invitation.

 

Patton’s last class of the day is math, and it’s about as boring as things can get. The teacher is droning on about calculating growth rates, and Patton’s attention is flickering in and out. On one hand, he really wants to go to the rehearsal today. After all this time, he finally has a chance to get to know Roman, and he desperately wants to take it. His friends may tease him about his crush, but if Patton’s being honest -and he’s really trying to be- it’s a bit more complicated than that. Patton still remembers the Roman that he first met, the one who stood up for a stranger without a moment’s hesitation, and it’s everything that Patton’s always wanted to be. Helping out those in need has been Patton’s dream for years now, and he can’t help but admire Roman’s dedication to helping people. 

Of course, Roman’s certainly not perfect- Patton can easily recall his tendency to make split-second judgments about people, especially back in middle school. That was half the reason Patton hadn’t befriended him back then. Back in freshman year, Roman had decided that Virgil was a troublemaker, based purely on his tendency to wear all black, and his messy eyeshadow. Of course, Patton had avoided Virgil too back then, albeit his reasoning was more out of fear than disapproval.

And then, Patton had been assigned Virgil as a partner in Language Arts, and he had consequently discovered that Virgil suffered from severe anxiety, and consequently found it difficult to make friends. He also learned that Virgil was actually quite good at writing- his poetry was a bit awkward in those early days, but it was still far better than Patton’s, and by the time they had finished the project, Patton found that he had become friends with the other boy.

Even still, Patton’s crush on Roman remained; half romantic feelings and half a mess of admiration. It may be years later, now, but he’s finally getting the chance to befriend him, and Patton’s probably a little too excited about it. After all, Patton’s hardly the only one harboring a crush on Roman, and on top of that, he doesn’t even know if Roman likes guys.

There have been rumors, of course, but Patton does his absolute best to ignore those, no matter what they say, and the thought that he might have no chance with Roman kicks up a dull ache in his heart. As much as he wishes it weren’t true, real life doesn’t guarantee a happy ending, and Patton knows he has no more claim to Roman than anyone else. But that’s something Patton would really rather not think about, so he forces his attention back towards the teacher. There’s a bunch of stuff written on the board now, Patton realizes with a start, and he snatches up his pen in a scramble to write it all down.

The bell rings, just as Patton starts writing the final line of equations, and he quickly scrawls down the rest, before shoving his notebook in his backpack. Standing up, Patton waves goodbye to his teacher and makes his way out the door. Once he’s in the hall, Patton starts in the direction of the drama teacher’s room, but he hasn’t even made it halfway there when Valerie suddenly appears next to him.

“Hi, Valerie,” Patton says. “What’s up?”

“I was just headed to rehearsal. Were you planning on joining us? I know Roman was intending to invite you.” Valerie grins at him, and Patton takes a moment to appreciate how friendly Valerie is. She’s been exceptionally welcoming to Patton, and he smiles back, feeling oddly grateful.

“Yeah, I was just heading there now!” Patton nods, bouncing on his toes.

“You were?” Valerie asks with a frown. “Oh, were you going to Mrs. Gregory’s classroom?” 

“Yeah,” Patton nods. “Was that, um. Not where I was supposed to go?” He asks as Valerie shakes her head.

“Why am I not surprised Roman forgot to tell you? Rehearsals happen in the auditorium. There’s not exactly enough room in a classroom for us to do our thing.” 

“Oh.” Patton blushes, and trails alongside Valerie as they turn around and begin to walk in the opposite direction. Patton hasn’t spent all that much time in the auditorium- he hadn’t even considered that rehearsal might be there, but now he thinks he was being a little silly, to not realize it sooner. He feels awkward and jittery, and as they get closer, Patton starts to wonder if he should even be going to rehearsal at all- after all, it’s not like he’s acting in the play. He’s just building them a set.

Valerie glances over at him, and then pauses, reaching out and putting her hand on his shoulder.

“You’re gonna do fine, I promise,” she says, offering him a smile. “Rehearsal will start off with some warm-up games, and then Mrs. Gregory will hand out scripts and we’ll get as far as we can with a readthrough. Then, at next rehearsal, we’ll pick up where we left off, and run through until we either run out of time or finish the script. The first couple days are just dedicated to getting everyone comfortable with the crew and the play we’re doing.” Patton blushes and glances at the ground.

“It’s probably silly, I just- I feel kinda like I shouldn’t be here. I mean, I’m no actor...” Patton trails off, feeling a bit melodramatic.

“No one said you have to be.”Valerie answers. “It can be easy to forget, especially when you’ve never been involved with a production before, but we actors wouldn’t be anything without our support. Stage crew and tech crew and costume designers are all part of what makes our part possible. You’ll be far from the only person in there who’s not gonna be onstage. You’re welcome to engage as much or as little as you feel you need to.”

“Thanks,” Patton says, feeling much better.

“No problem. We’re all new sometime, and it can be pretty nerve-wracking; after all, there’s a lot of big personalities in theatre.” With that, Valerie opens the door and waves Patton through.

“Zip!” Patton blinks up at the stage where a crowd of people is gathered. -“Zap!”- Everyone seems to be standing in a circle, and as Patton watches, feeling stunned and confused -“Zop!”- kids are yelling and clapping. 

“Aw, they’ve already started?” Valerie says, standing next to Patton. “This is one of the warm-ups I mentioned. It’s called zip-zap-zop. Clap, point and make eye contact with whoever you want, and shout the next word in the pattern, then they have to do the same.”

“Zip!” Patton hears someone shout, but the next person says “Zop”, and everybody breaks apart, laughing.

“If you mess up- say the wrong word, or if two people answer simultaneously, you’re out,” Valerie continues then grins. “ Then someone starts the pattern over again. I’m gonna go tap in- you’re welcome to join too if you want. Or you can watch with the others.” She gestures to a group of people standing nearby the circle, and then climbs onto the stage, to join the crowd. Patton slowly follows, but rather than heading for the big circle, he makes his way over to the handful of people who are just watching. As nice as Valerie was, he’s still half confused about what they’re even doing and would probably mess up immediately.

A moment later, the circle roars into action, as they begin their game again. Even though everybody’s following the same pattern, Patton notices that some people are much more energetic in the responses than others. When it gets passed to Roman, he actually jumps, in an effort to shift his entire body to point towards the next person, causing a few laughs to echo across the circle. A few moments later, Valerie gets passed to. She’s almost as dramatic as Roman, and Patton finds himself smiling and laughing at the strange antics, as the game goes on. Occasionally, someone will mess up, and leave the circle amid much laughter.

Then, suddenly, halfway through a round, Roman starts up a new chain, yelling out ‘zip’ on top of the chain already going around. At first, Patton thinks Roman has messed up, but instead, the person Roman pointed to continues their own chain, and Patton watches in fascination as the circle starts flinging both chains around at the same time. It doesn’t take too long after that for someone to mess up, and when they start the game again, Roman quickly adds in the second chain.

And then Roman messes up, calling out zip at the same time as the person next to him, and everybody bursts into laughter as he collapses onto the stage.

“Wow, Roman, out so soon? Must be distracted today.” He hears someone call as Roman wails.

“Yeah, we all know why that is,” Jamahl says, from his spot, chilling in the crowd of watchers. Patton frowns in confusion, wondering what he means, but then they’re starting the game up again, and Patton finds himself distracted by the yells sprouting up from the players.

When there are just four people left, Roman pops up next to Patton with a grin.

“Having fun?” Roman asks.

“I... think I am?” Patton offers, frowning as somebody messes up and the round ends. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s crazy.”

“Oh, yeah,” Roman laughs. “Drama games can get pretty strange, especially when you’ve never seen them before.”

Then, with another mistake, they’re finally down to two people, who face each other, leaning in, and grinning. The game starts off, and they’re saying the words so rapid-fire that the shouts are blurring together, and Patton can’t possibly keep track of the back-and-forth. Patton feels a bit like he’s watching a professional tennis match on tv; both people seem incredibly good, and they’re both clearly determined to win this.

“Do they get anything for winning?” Patton finds himself asking, absentmindedly.

“Only the pride and satisfaction of being the best,” Roman says with a laugh. “It’s actually pretty fun to see Terrence and Renee go at each other. I’m usually one of the last two standing, actually. I just had an off day today.”

“Yeah?” Patton asks, glancing over at Roman. The moment he looks away, though, he hears zop shouted twice in a row, and Patton turns back to watch as the two shake hands, laughing.

“All right!” Mrs. Gregory shouts a moment later, to Patton’s surprise. He had been so focused on the game that he hadn’t even seen her walk in. “I hope we’re all feeling sufficiently warmed up now, so if you would all take a seat, we’ll start handing out your scripts!” Patton watches as people immediately start sitting down forming a shape that vaguely resembles a circle. He joins them, and watches as Roman and a few others begin handing everyone scripts.

Once everybody’s settled with script in hand, Mrs. Gregory asks for Kyle to begin reading, and Patton settles in to listen, as the tale of Romeo and Juliet unfolds.


End file.
